Pop-up ads: now even worse

By
12.24.2002 :: 7:24AM EST

A new breed of pop-up advertisements feature a technique called, “kick through” where you no longer even need to click on the pop-up to be sent to the advertiser's site. Now, it's enough to merely move your cursor over the ad and it is assumed that you have interest and are sent to the advertiser's page.

Orbitz, possibly the only company to use such ads so far, is using the kick through ads on The New York Times and ESPN.com sites to generate more holiday traffic. The pop-up ads offer games and when users are enticed to roll over parts of the ad, 30% of them will be sent right to Orbitz.com. Ad agency Otherwise, who serves the ads for Orbitz, states, “There's an enormous segment of the population that are appreciating these ads.” However, other advertising companies aren't so friendly to the format. Lauren Pattison from Mediasmith stated:

An outcome of anything other than annoyance is doubtful. Since (Orbitz) is already known for intrusive and frequent pop-ups, this only extends the experience one level further.

ROB'S OPINION
I find Orbitz akin to spammers and others who state that the ends justify the means. This distasteful approach to online advertising hurts those that are advertising in a more legitimate manner such as running banner advertisements for products that people can click on if they are actually interested. Orbitz has superceded X10 as the most annoying advertiser out there. It's unfortunate that ESPN and The New York Times actually allow the serving of such ads, but I can understand that if the decision is between laying off more staff for the holiday season or making some extra revenue – not that I would have made the same choice myself.

If you don't like pop-ups, either use Netscape 7.01, Mozilla, Opera or another browser that supports pop-up blocking. If you are stuck on IE and want to block pop-ups, you can either buy software for $20-$40 to do it for you or just install the 45KB freeware KillAd. In my browsing I noticed that the WashingtonPost actually managed to get a pop-up ad, for Orbitz, no less, through Mozilla's pop-up blocking. I'm sure there will be some technology wars here, but, if you've noticed, most of the major sites still using pop-ups are sites that have a strong offline presence and users that feel required to access the online content at any reasonable cost (“I must see Drew Blesdoe's career throwing stats! Now!”). Maybe such companies will eventually do away with the pop-ups or will offer ad-free services to paying subscribers. Online content is still in its infancy, and it will be interesting to see where this all settles out.

USER COMMENTS 30 comment(s)

They have those ads on Yahoo too(7:36am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)How many people actually buy something after accidentally hovering over something? PIA! – by PIA

Hmmm…(8:24am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)“There's an enormous segment of the population that are appreciating these ads.”

This statement actually doesn't surprise me, since there's an enormous segment of the population that is retarded and can't figure out their left click button.

Orbitz needs to die of a yeast infection and rot in Hell. – by Noob Saibot

HAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(8:34am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)Noob said [quote] “This statement actually doesn't surprise me, since there's an enormous segment of the population that is retarded and can't figure out their left click button.” [end quote]

Like mac users maybe?

Hahaha – by Mac's blow.

what ads???(8:45am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)… I mean it… what pop-up ads???…. I have been using Mozilla and Phoenix ( well Mozilla), and I don't see those ads that you guys are talking about… AND I MEAN IT -)

Damn, I only remember those ads when I read about them (like in this article). Other wise I even forgot that they are still out there. X10 ad still around??? I thought that ad died a long time ago (I mean it). I didn't see the bloody ad for so long I had to think to understand what Rob was talking about.

Oh well….. I can't realy comment on this article because I don't see any pop-up ads… so cya.

– by Stranger

mac blows(8:48am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)you are giving them to much credit….but back to topic, maybe we should mount a email blitz, to companys like orbitz, znd use as much foul mouth words, maybe the people that receive this “reverse spam” might wake up. – by hate popups

Advertising(8:50am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)If people still responded to banner ads, there would be no need for fancy popups. Back in the day, banners used to pay about a billion dollars CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions). I wish those days were back. – by Mike

hate popups(8:58am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)Me too hate pop-ups and pop-unders. But suggest not foul mouth words, but something more effective like “I will never, ever, use your product/service as a result of my annoyance with your advertising technique….” Foul mouth only proves is idiot writing, not potential customer leaving. – by clean

I use Pop-Up Stopper(9:36am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)from

Mostly b/c I'm too lazy to check out Mozilla or Opera.

They have a free version and a pay version. The only drawback I've come across on the free version is you have to hold or to open another instance of your browser.

But it's a heck of a lot better than opening up the local newspaper's website and having 3 or 4 popups open. – by eldou

doh(9:37am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)supposed to say you have to hold CTRL or SHIFT to open another instance…

I must say, I like this browser very much. The pop-up ad supression feature has worked perfectly for me so far, it's AWESOME to say the least.

My primary browser up until now had been the NETSCAPE 4.X family, (4.79 was the latest I used). IT worked fine for most of the sites I would go to but from time to time, I would hit a site that it would choke on so I would keep IE 5.5 close by and power it up for those Microsoft only sites.

Now Mozilla handles any site I frequent with greater speed than either IE or Netscape 4.X.

Also, it's SUPERIOR to both IE and Netscape 4.x in that it properly stores photographs of previously visited web sites in the disk cache file. Once downloaded, the photographs are ALWAYS there for subsequent viewing!

Combined with a pop-up ad supression feature and tabbed viewing, you just can't go wrong with this browser.

And best of all, it's NOT MADE BY THE MONOPOLISTIC MICROSOFT!

BTW, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz has ruled that MICROSOFT must include SUN's Java in the WINDOWS OS, YES!!!

Motz wrote that if Microsoft's system (.NET) was to remain dominant, “it should be because of .NET's superior qualities, not because Microsoft leveraged its PC monopoly to create market conditions in which it is unfairly advantaged.”

FINALLY, a judge with a brain, much unlike U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.– by Sam914

Rules of the Game(10:15am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)Panicware's software is good but I stopped using it when I upgraded to Netscape 7.01. If there is one thing that these obnoxious ads do is point out those commercial web sites that don't use these techniques. Advertising and the internet are forever linked. Let's support those who play by a reasonable set of rules. – by F. Theilig

I just love the “Ding” sound when a pop-up is blocked on NS7.01(10:45am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)It is so nice to hear the “ding” when a pop-up ad is blocked on Netscape 7.01. No fuss or mess like IE and 3rd party software. – by NS better

get this pop-up stopper(10:53am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)this tool is great. it will block ALL popups, if you need one to go through, hold down the CTRL key and it pops up. The point is you have complete control over pop ups. the software is free, small, sits in your tray and has NO SPYWARE. …and download the FREE edition. – by BenTheWorm

I just don't believe it…(11:20am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)“There's an enormous segment of the population that are appreciating these ads” This statement just does not pass the stink test. I can't believe an organization like the New York Times is in bed with these lowest of the low. Some people (like adverstisers) are so caught up in their never-ending pursuit of our attention, they have a warrior mentality and has no respect – not one single itoa – for their audience. A tasteful banner at the top of a page is find – I have actually responded to them.

But never, never, will I trade with this scum. And the gawddamn New York Times will never see a penny from me again. – by Cranky

Mozilla ROCKS(11:35am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)NO POP_UPS!! – by OGRE

I'm even more annoyed….(11:53am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)…at those java ads that have things running across the screen, which can be pretty darn annoying when you're visiting a web site for a serious reason and don't need to see the same ad over and over.

Yesterday (when the blizzard starting hitting the middle part of the country) every time I went to the weather channel web site I got a full screen ad of some orange presents falling down and piling up in the bottom of the screen. (And proof to the point I found the close button and killed it every time without ever knowing what the ad was for.)

I still feel what I said a long time ago–that advertising is one of the biggest scams of all time, both on the public and on businesses. I don't know of anyone who likes intrusive advertising, spam e-mail, or telemarketers, yet somehow they keep generating statistics saying people love it. Go figure. – by Ziwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwiwi

meh(11:57am EST Tue Dec 24 2002)So many of you praising netscape/mozilla/opera because it can stop pop-ups? That's kind of lame…

IE can block pop-ups also, it's just not an option in the actual browser… however, there's a lot of third-party companies that have created programs using the IE ocx (component) that do allow pop up blocking…

My favorite browser… w

It's an attempt to mimick Opera using the IE engine… it is a tabbed browser with a pop-up stopper… it's great, all MS pages look the way they're supposed to, without the pop-ups. – by ShellShock

I'm torn.(12:30pm EST Tue Dec 24 2002)I have boycotted sites for years because of their stand on popups or spam. Yet, I want those programmers to keep their jobs. This is a moot point, since those who want to block popups can, and sites keep paying people to write popups. Have any of you seen the delayed popup? You can leave the site which sent it & it will popup minutes later. – by tech

You know….(1:27pm EST Tue Dec 24 2002)If advertisers had their way, we would all be strapped into chairs and straight jackets with eye clamps on and man in white administering eye drops to our eyes. All while watching comercials of britney spears selling frigin everything over and over and over again. Oh, and our wallets would be linked to our male impulse on how many times we think about sleeping with Britney Spears per video bite/second. Hehe – by MasterBlaster

ShellShock, Others(3:15am EST Wed Dec 25 2002)I stoped useing IE and third-party software when I started getting popup ads anyway. With Mozilla i have never had that problem (plus i can block banner ads…). – by CJ

About the “k-pups” = kick pop ups ads(11:45am EST Wed Dec 25 2002)We could have a better browsing experience if search engines take a stand and remove documents containing these k-pups and all sort of pop-ups from their databases. Are they gonna do it? I doubt it. (too many vested interests involved). – by k-bot

Compliant to a consumers group(12:14pm EST Wed Dec 25 2002)About those k-pups (kicking pop-ups windows), just complaint to a consumers group, the same sponsors (The New York Times and ESPN.com) or to the ChillingEffects.org site. Let see if they put their money & mouth together. – by k-bot

pop ups(2:57pm EST Wed Dec 25 2002)We have a problem here in Zimbabwe to stop these pop ups so we have got to look for free downloads as we do not have Us dollars available regards Gordon – by gordon ferry

Avant is a Rockin Browser(7:53pm EST Sun Dec 29 2002)Tried it an threw out IE6 right away. Fantastic! – by Renoman

This pop up killer is great(10:22am EST Wed Mar 05 2003)– by Bad boy

orbitz(12:28am EST Sat Jun 14 2003)I work customer service for Orbitz. I don't say that Orbitz pop ups are any good. In fact they are awful, not only intrusive but rude and violent. However, I can guarantee that if you send us an email with foul words and saying you'll never use Orbitz we laugh, show our neighbors why we're laughing and give you a canned response. The reason I know is I worked email for several months. So save your strongly worded emails and learn to right click or alt f4. Or wait, send the emails….we love a good laugh. – by orbitz job only 4 $$